Monthly Archives: December 2013

US web host Fozzy expands with India Data Center

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

US web hosting company Fozzy has launched services from a data center in Madhapur, an IT indutry hub of Hyderabad, India.

The host has taken space with CtrlS, an Indian data center provider. The location adds to Fozzy’s existing data centers in Dallas, Amsterdam and Singapore.

Data center aisle stock Getty_35HF31dec2013

Fozzy has placed hundreds of servers in the facility in addition to establishing a dedicated support center for India.

The web host’s pitch revolves around hosting speed as well as VPS (virtual private server) speed. Its VPS services are available on Linux and Windows, but most clients opt for Linux, the company said.

Fozzy also provides a specially tailored Forex VPS solution, which is latency-optimized for Forex traders.

It offers a seven-day free trial to demonstrate the performance and free domain registration. Fozzy has set up a payment system by bank transfer to the State Bank of India and CICI Bank.

source: http://www.datacenterdynamics.com / Datacenter Dynamics / Home> Zones / by Datacenter Dynamics Focus / December 23rd, 2013

Life-saving heart transplant done

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Science & Technology
Venkata Ramya is all smiles after the successful surgery at Yashoda Hospital on Tuesday. - / Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu
Venkata Ramya is all smiles after the successful surgery at Yashoda Hospital on Tuesday. – / Photo: Nagara Gopal / The Hindu

A resident of Pithapuram in East Godavari District, Venkata Ramya had been suffering from ‘postpartum cardiomyopathy’ after delivering a baby seven years ago

Doctors at Yashoda Hospital performed a life-saving heart transplant on a 25-year-old woman after she developed a rare disorder associated with pregnancy.

Venkata Ramya, a resident of Pithapuram, East Godavari District, had been suffering from ‘postpartum cardiomyopathy’ after delivering a baby seven years ago. She had breathlessness while walking and was unable to lie down flat. A cardiologist at Kakinada, who suggested heart transplant for Ramya, referred her to Dr. A.G.K. Gokhale, chief cardiothoracic, transplant and minimal access surgeon, at Yashoda Hospital.

Dr. Gokhale and Dr. Rajasekhar, consultant cardiologist, kept her on the waiting list for a donor. After a month, on December 15, a 21-year-old accident victim was declared brain dead in another hospital in the city. After the victim’s relatives expressed willingness to donate his organs, Dr. Gokhale and Dr. Sudhakar, a consultant anaesthetist, rushed to the hospital, removed the heart from the victim and transferred it to Yashoda Hospital in a few minutes, even as the city traffic police provided escort to the ambulance.

A team of cardiothoracic surgeons, headed by Dr. Gokhale and Dr. G. Subramanyam, senior consultant anaesthetist, performed the surgery taking six hours.

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Dr. Gokhale and Yashoda Group of Hospitals managing director Dr. G.S. Rao emphasised the need for creating greater awareness about the Jeevandan scheme and organ donation, as a number of lives could be saved.

Ramya, who struggled to hold back her emotions, said she had lost all hope and added that she was indebted to the doctors and the donor for giving her a new lease of life. Dr. Gokhale said the cost of a heart transplant procedure was Rs. 15 lakh, and that 50,000 to 60,000 people in the country required heart transplant.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – December 24th, 2013

Gitamites upbeat about MUN

Education

Visakhapatnam :

Students of Gitam University are kicked about the fact that their varsity will be playing host to a model United Nations meet ‘Gitam-MUN’ from December 23 to 25 at the campus and are raring to go.

The campus is already abuzz with orientation sessions being held to teach students the nitty-gritty of how to conduct oneself, how to speak via mediators and the intricacies of a civilised debate, mainly because the ideas and possible solutions generated will actually be sent by way of a final draft resolution to the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan, where they will be catalogued for further study.

“The event is, in a way, being conducted under the aegis and directions of the UNIC for India and Bhutan,” pointed out one of the organisers M Bindu Madhavi.

The event will see students debating on a dozen crucial issues facing the world. As part of the MUN, a total of 12 agendas ranging from range from privatisation of space exploration to peace keeping in Syria and prevention of outbreak of new diseases would be debated by six committees with each committee taking up two agendas.

The committees would represent UN bodies like Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Security Council (UNSC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

The students firmly believe that such events not just boost their confidence levels but also make them more proactive in their public and personal lives. “Such meets generate a database of fresh and young ideas for the UN. More importantly such meets help promote a perspective of the future at an earlier date and time,” said R Divya Bharati, a third year engineering student of Gitam and one of the chief organizers of the Gitam-MUN.

Divya Bharati further pointed out that the selection process too is quite tough with a panel of selectors putting the candidates through several rounds of grilling. On the response to the event, she said that so far they had received over 500 applications and expect to receive many more.

Explaining that this is the first time that Gitam is hosting such an event, the students said they will leave nothing to chance to ensure its success. “In fact, we had a two-day orientation programme on this issue mainly because we wish to make a complete success of it. The participating students too seemed excited about being members of a model UN Council,” said a student.

V Abhiraj Gupta, who will play the role of a debater, said, “Such orientation sessions help boost your confidence even if you have already participated in such events. But as this is a pan-India event, it puts it on an entirely different scale.”

K Nandita, a first year MBBS student said, “I’ll be playing a moderator. I love the power part of it and I’m thrilled to be part of this event. I have already participated in MUNs held in Chennai and Bangalore and I’m confident of doing well this time around too.”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> World Health Organisation / by Venkatesh Bayya, TNN / December 21st, 2013

Gitam Students Launch Portal

Education

The students of the Hyderabad Business School (HBS), Gitam University, have launched a unique online portal called apneadda.com on Friday, which enables students on campuses to exchange ideas on various issues. The website has been built at a minimal cost of `16,000.

After launching the website, HBS dean and director Prof. SS Prasada Rao said that India is now eyeing at global opportunities. Students should remember that innovation and enterprise are key to a nation’s growth. He complimented students for engaging in a real business using worldwide web especially when online training is picking up.    The idea was conceived by students -Vinod Kumar, Sai Krishna, Srinivas, Srujana, Arun and Jayaprakash of HBS and secured a third place at a national level Business Idea Contest held in Ahmedabad recently.

‘’Although it attracts students in the name of rating food items offered at college canteens, the forums on the website are meant to engage them exchange of ideas,” said CEO of the venture Vinod Kumar.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / December 21st, 2013

Success for Silver Pompano in Andhra Pradesh

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

INDIA – The first crop of the highly valued Silver Pompano fish cultivated in Krishna district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, for the first time is ready for harvest.

The marine fish, locally known as Chanduva Para, which is being cultivated in two acres of brackish water in Nagayalanka mandal, survived without any retardation in growth despite the recent bad weather.  The Hindu  reports that this is the first marine fish being cultivated in brackish waters in Krishna district.

Scientists from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Chennai, provided the Silver Pompano seed to the Nagayalanka-based farmer, T. Raghu Sekhar, in July. The tenant farmer sowed the seed in his two-acre pond at Peda Kammavaripalem in Nagayalanka mandal.

Good growth

“Of the total 6,000 seeds released into the pond, not a single fish died and growth is expected to reach the maximum of 400 gm to 420 gm by the time of the first harvest due in March,” Mr Sekhar told  The Hindu .

By the fourth month the fish grew to the size of a palm and also turned white. They were able to tolerate the vagaries of weather, Mr Sekhar said. There is great demand for the Silver Pompano, a marine fish, in the domestic market all along the coast in Andhra Pradesh. But there was a drastic fall in the catch of the variety of fish in the ocean. The fishermen were not sure when and in which weather conditions they could catch this variety of fish in the ocean, Mr Sekhar said.

Lucrative price

The cultivation of these fish was, however, tricky because the salinity of the water should be maintained between five and 40 PPT (parts per thousand) for the fish to thrive and grow.

“Domestic market prices are very lucrative for Silver Pompano, fetching Rs 200 a kg. At times when the cultivation of tiger prawn and high risk Vannamei shrimp are driving the farmer into losses frequently, shifting to cultivation of marine fish species is being seen as a viable and lucrative option,” added Mr Sekhar

source : http://www.thefishsite.com/ The Fish Site / Home> News> India / by The Fish Site News Desk / December 17th, 2013

Infotech becomes first India-based company to receive TL 9000 certification

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Achieves it for fixed network engineering services

News | CIOL Bureau

Hyderabad, India :

Infotech Enterprises announced that its telecom business unit’s network engineering services division has earned a TL 9000 (Release 5.0) certification under the product category 7.2.1.1 Fixed Network Engineering Services, becoming the first India-based organization to be certified under this product category. Infotech’s offices at Madhapur, Hyderabad and Paragould, Arkansas, USA were certified.

Scope of the certification includes: engineering services including design, modeling, analysis, and data conversion of wire line telecommunication networks.

The TL 9000 quality management system was developed by the Quality of Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications forum, a global communications association comprised of the world’s top industry service providers and suppliers, who are dedicated to continually improving standards in the telecommunications industry.

TL 9000 is built on ISO 9001 standards and its purpose is to define the unique communications quality system requirements for design, development, production, delivery, and service.

As part of the certification process, the audit team from Bureau Veritas Corp. (BVC) audited Infotech’s engineering services practice delivery in Hyderabad and the USA on the ISO 9001:2008 and TL9000 Release 5.0 quality management systems and continuous improvement initiatives.

John Renard, president and BU head, said: “Infotech has always put quality of execution and quality of the process at the heart of every client engagement. With the significant growth in our telecom engineering services, especially in North America, it became clear that we could align this focus on quality with the specific needs of our telecommunication customers by adopting TL 9000. We strongly believe that TL 9000 will benefit all customers in this sector and strengthen our leadership position in the sector.”

source: http://www.ciol.com / CIOL / Home> Telecom> News / by CIOL Bureau / Hyderabad, Wednesday – December 18th, 2013

President Mukherjee to spend winter sojourn in Secunderabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Science & Technology

President Pranab Mukherjee will proceed to the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Bolarum, Secunderabad  for the customary winter sojourn from December 19 to 31.

From Secunderabad, Mukherjee will visit  Tamil Nadu and Kerala  on December 20.

In Tamil Nadu, he will inaugurate the 28th Indian Engineering Congress and the School of Commerce and Economics of Loyola College at Chennai.

In Kerala, he will unveil a statue of late K. Karunakaran, former chief minister of Kerala, at Thiruvananthapuram and inaugurate the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Ayyan Kali at Kochi on the same day.

On December 23, Mukherjee will attend the concluding function of centenary celebrations of Dr. Neelam Sanjeev Reddy, former President of India at Ananthapuram,  Andhra Pradesh .

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-ANI> National / by ANI / New Delhi – December 18th, 2013

Flamingo fest at Sullurpeta from January 8

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

FlamingoHF27dec2013

Nellore: 

District administration is planning to hold the unique three-day event Flamingo Festival at Sullurpeta from January 8th next year.

The administration has been organising the festival every year to mark the arrival of thousands of migratory birds, especially flamingos, to Nelapattu Birds sanctuary, widely known as their winter home.

Bird watchers and tourists throng the Sanctuary and Pulicat lake to watch flamingos hunt fish during the daytime.

The festival was planned about a decade ago to attract tourists to the sanctuary from the state and neighbouring states.

District collector N. Srikant has asked the officials to prepare an action plan to hold the festival on January 8, 9 and 10 next year during a meeting held at the Kalyana Mandapam in Chengalamma temple at Sullurpeta on Wednesday.

He directed the officials to make necessary arrangements to provide accommodation for the tourists and asked them not to repeat the mistakes committed in making arrangements earlier.

Srikant said that stalls of various government departments and cultural prorgammes would be arranged at the junior college ground at Sullurpeta during the festival.

Seminars on bio-diversity, birds and protection of Pulicat lake would also be conducted.

Boat ride will be arranged for the visitors at Bheemulavaripalem in Tada mandal.

The collector inspected the junior college ground along with ZP CEO Jitendra, DWMA project director Gowthami, tourism officer Nagabhushana, Nayudupeta RDO M.V. Ramana and Gudur DSP Chowdeswari Devi.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / December 19th, 2013

Now, add augmented reality to print ads via Rev Media’s mobile application

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

To launch fully AR-enabled monthly tabloid for high-networth individuals soon.

Rev Media, a Hyderabad-based out-of-the-home (OOH) media start-up, has developed Rev Eye, a mobile application that enables transforming traditional forms of print media advertisements or collaterals into digital engagements using augmented reality (AR).

AR is a technology that allows for a digitally-enhanced view of the real world, connecting the user with more meaningful content in his/her everyday life. With the camera and sensors in a smartphone or a tablet, AR adds layers of digital information – videos, photos and sounds – to the rich content.

After downloading Rev Eye, all a user needs to do is aim a phone’s camera to an activated advertisement, and then have various images of a product and all the relevant details of it on the screen. The app was developed using a core image recognition engine licensed from a US-based technology provider and involving an investment of Rs 10 lakh.

“In our case, we are doing AR (print advertisement, posters, billboards and packaging) for brands. Rev Eye is currently live on five brands, including the Indian Luxury Expo scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from tomorrow. We should be hitting at least 100 brands in a year from now,” said. Vishal Reddy, chief executive of Rev Media.

Stating that the adoption of this technology was still in a nascent stage, he said AR as a market was at around $2 million in India in 2010, which was expected to grow exponentially to touch the $2.5-billion mark by 2015.

“The growth will primarily be driven by the ubiquity that the smart phones are achieving,” Reddy said, adding that the company’s immediate target was to generate revenues of Rs 1 crore a month from Rev Eye, starting next quarter.

Reddy said that the company was set to launch ‘The Luxury Box’, a fully augmented reality-enabled tabloid targeting high-networth individuals (HNIs) during this weekend. The 20-page monthly, priced at Rs 100, will have precise and situation-based content on “anything luxury” including hotels, apparel, jewellery and cars, he added.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by K. Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – December 12th, 2013

Aurobindo receives USFDA nod for anti-depressant drug

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The capsules are the generic equivalent of Eli Lilly & Company’s Cymbalta delayed-release capsules.

CapsulesHF26dec2013

Hyderabad-based drug maker Aurobindo Pharma Limited stated that it had received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Duloxetine Hydrochloride delayed-release capsules 20 mg (base), 30 mg (base) and 60 mg (base), which had been tentatively approved earlier.

The capsules are the generic equivalent of Eli Lilly & Company’s ‘Cymbalta’ delayed-release capsules. They are prescribed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and fall under the neurological therapeutic category.

According to IMS, the market size of the product is $5.4 billion for the twelve months ending September 2013.

Aurobindo said in a press release that it now had a total of 188 abbreviated new drug application approvals from USFDA.

The company’s scrip was trading at Rs 300.20 on the BSE, up 0.76% over the previous day’s close of Rs 297.95.

source: http:d//www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Prashanth Chintala / Hyderabad – December 13th, 2013